The new Lebanon cedar of Jardins de la Fontaine

Here’s another picture from the end of September – although it looks pretty much same even in November, as these trees are evergreen.

The place is Jardins de la Fontaine, one of the most beautiful gardens of France. This part of the garden is a little forgotten, however. It’s a fairly large and calm square, with benches on the sides. The tree in the middle is a cedar tree that replaced the original 300 year old cedar of Lebanon that was destroyed a couple of years ago by heavy snow that fell suddenly in spring.

I was there the day before the tragedy. The wind was blowing very strongly, and the old tree that covered the square with its branches like a huge umbrella, made quite scary creaking sounds. We hurried up at the time, as it really sounded like it was coming down. During the night came the snow, and the next day the gardens were closed. Several trees had fallen, among them the old cedar tree. It was the year of the gardens 300th birthday, and the cedar tree had been one of the first trees to planted! So, it was a shame, but a tree has its life span. Now we just wait for the new cedar to grow as grand as the previous.

Chrysanthemums

This one comes a little late, but as the flowers are so beautiful, I’ll add it anyway.

The chrysanthemums were out on the street for the All Saints Day, or La Toussaint. This year I didn’t go to the graves, but here you can see a picture from last year. At the time we by chance found the grave of Nîmes’ hero, the legendary French bullfighter Nimeno II.

Inner garden of the Hôtel de Ville

One more picture from the town hall of Nîmes: the lovely little garden in the inner yard. It is changed according to season, and in the end of August it looked like this.

First death

…or, when the body left the body…

It’s again the time, when the young cicadas emerge their nymph skins to become fully adults, and the empty nymph skins are seen on tree trunks, grasses and under the benches. Here, in the Jardins de la Fontaine in Nîmes.

The nymph skins are surprisingly small, so first it’s difficult to notice them. In the photo on the right,  there are two skins. Can you find them? And above there are more, like the cicadas had been climbing up the tree…

So, now the singing of the cicadas gets even louder? Well, that’s the sound of summer!

Roses

I’m not sure if I paid any attention on the changing of the flowers near the Hôtel de Ville before starting this blog, but now my eyes have opened. Last time I admired the camellias, and now it’s roses. And there have been other flowering plants in between. Lovely, isn’t it?

Judas tree, pretty in pink (and green)

The blooming of the Judas trees is very impressive. Now the season is ending, and green leaves are taking over the pink flowers.

Weeping willow by the Nemausa spring

The best thing to do on a rainy day is to go out for a walk. Take your umbrella, stop by a book store, and go to the nearby garden. Here in Nîmes the biggest garden/park is Jardins de la Fontaine, or the Fountain gardens. Signs of spring are everywhere… like here, where the weeping willow is blooming.

The pool is actually a real spring, and the very spot where the city got its start: a celtic tribe had built a village around the sacred spring dedicated to the goddess of Nemausa, and the Romans continued the work by building a bath complex with a library and a theater, and expanding the city of Nemausus further.

In the 18th century a civic park à la française was built in the same place, and nowadays it’s a place for all the citoyans to spend time and relax. Even on a rainy day!

Cherry tree blooming

Does this look familiar? Yes, it’s the same place where the oleander bushes used to grow, just from the opposite end. And here you can find perhaps the only cherry tree in Nîmes (at least it’s the only one I’ve seen), and it’s blooming! It’s a Japanese cherry tree, so it won’t bear any fruit. Only the flowers are to be enjoyed. A picnic maybe? A one-cherry-hanami!

The tree is still very young, but already so beautiful. The building behind is for the gardeners. After the rainy days the sun is again warming, birds singing and butterflies flying around… Spring is so nice here!

No more oleander bushes

Almost exactly a year ago I took a photo here of the recently trimmed laurier rose (nerium oleander) bushes. And now that I remembered it’s the time for the trimmings… I noticed the bushes no longer existed. All of them were gone, and although walking here often, I hadn’t noticed a thing!

 

Camellias blooming

After a rain shower I went for a walk. And found the camellias blooming. I waited and waited… And finally one person walked into the picture. Holding her little dog in her arms.

If you turn right in the corner, you will come to the Nîmes’ townhall.